Continue tanking or go DPS for 5.2?

Another one of these threads. Yes, kinda. Let me lay it out.

I love tanking. I love blood. I love DKs. If I had my choice, I'd tank 100% of the time. However, I am in a 10 man raid group with 3 tanks. So far we've been rotating tanking duties. So every 3rd week I'm DPSing 100%. Because I do the best dps out of all 3 of our tanks in my offspec, I am usually chosen to go DPS when we only need one tank. Thus, I feel as if I need to gear up two toons to keep the raid rolling smoothly, but it's hard to stay on top of both. jack of all trades, master of none... as they say.

So I am thinking about spending all my VP on dps gear when 5.2 hits and just forego tanking. I don't hate dpsing, I just love tanking more. At this point in the expansion there is no way I'll find a guild looking for a main tank to join their raid group. Most guilds I've seen are recruiting just dps because the important spots are filled.

So I'm just looking for some feedback on what I should do, especially with the patch coming up next week.

Do you tank better then you counterparts? If so, you could make that argument to whomever chooses who tanks/dps's when.

Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.So I chose the path of the Ebon Blade, and not a day passes where i've regretted it.I am eternal, I am unyielding, I am UNDYING.I am Zethras, and my blood will be the end of you.

"Better" is pretty subjective. I have the best gear out of the three, and am probably more situationally aware than the others two. Plus, I am not afraid to talk over vent and give orders, even though I'm not the raid leader.

But the raid leader insists we rotate to keep things fair, especially since I was the 3rd tank in. The fact he accommodated in the first place was great. I'm not here to step on anyone's toes, but I just don't want to split my efforts anymore.

I don't have time to lead or put together my own raid team. I'm smart, by my own schedule is hectic enough not to toss dealing with another 9 people on top of it. I had the chance to raid lead with another guild at the start of the expansion and turned it down because it just wasn't the right move.

But you do make a good point. I'll talk with him and see what the situation will be in 5.2 and look at my options after that.

If your situation truly is how you've spelled it out and not just... well, subjective horn-blowing (though I'm just making a point, not throwing anything at you) then you should for sure be the one who does the tanking.

I've been in this position many, many, MANY times over the years I've been playing this game; every single expac has had me as a tank/melee DPS class, from warrior to DK to monk. Every single time, I've always ensured that I'm not only up to speed and prepared to tank, but also to maximise my DPS through proper gear maintenance and practise. Thus, except for one period where I was playing with an absolutely phenominal group of people during WotLK, I've always been a hot DPS'er as well as a damn good tank.

Sounds like the others are doing what people would always do to me - using lack of commitment to raid versatility as an excuse to not DPS. It's actually rather frustrating: you go the extra mile over your compatriots to ensure that you more than pull your weight if your raid needs you to DPS, and you get rewarded by... always being pulled out of your preferred spec because the other guys don't bother with it.

I say fuck that - stick with tanking and raise the matter with your GM/RL. If you're new enough to the guild (you mentioned being the 3rd tank recruited) that you don't really have a lot of pull, you may need to just bite the bullet and look for another. But if your officers are any kind of smart, they'll recognise that they can't gimp the tanking sector in order to shore up the DPS by pulling their most capable tank out. It's up to the others to up their game.

It's all just your subjective opinion, so it's hard for us to say, but I suppose I'll give my two cents. From your replys I take it you'd rather stay in this guild as a dps than to look for a new guild to tank in? If you are willing to jump to a different guild, stay as a tank and keep looking for a guild with a spot free, it always opens up if you are a solid player.

If that isn't an option I'd say it's just about if you think you could stand dpsing fulltime, I know that I couldn't, and if so you're just left with one option. That being said, I don't think it's particulary hard to gear up your offspec, if they recruited you as a tank they should be fine with you spending all your priorities/valor on the tanking gear and just get dps gear when it does affect your tanking. All having a "competitive" offspec actually means is that you'll get gear no one wants at a raid, enchant it, gem it (might need to regem a few things between raids, but on my server gems are 10g) and some reforging, it's a small amount of effort and a small amount of gold. Our rotations aren't so complicated that you need to spend a lot of time on that.

It's all just your subjective opinion, so it's hard for us to say, but I suppose I'll give my two cents. From your replys I take it you'd rather stay in this guild as a dps than to look for a new guild to tank in? If you are willing to jump to a different guild, stay as a tank and keep looking for a guild with a spot free, it always opens up if you are a solid player.

I've looked for tanking roles in other guilds too. As I said before, it's hard to find a tank spot open this far into the expansion. Me going DPS would actually open up more options if I ever wanted to go to a different guild.

Originally Posted by Nye

When I was in similar situations the decision making was pretty easy: Do I like the people better than my raid role?

It's solely what you want to do. No one here can make that decision for you.

My current guild isn't the greatest, and I would certainly move to a new guild assuming they would allow me to tank 100%. I know you can't make the decision for me, but it's good the feedback I am getting.

This. I have actually switched main characters to stick with the same people to balance out the roster. This is an MMO of course and if you find a group of people you enjoy do not take it for granted because there are a ton of not great people in Azeroth...

You'd be surprised... Tanks tend to come and go as much as melee, maybe moreso due to the added pressure/responsibility put on them. If you REALLY wanted to tank then you 'd more than likely be able to find a new guild, even this far into an expansion (might require a realm change).

If you like your guild and the people you raid with then, IMO that's the most important aspect of this game and you should just stick with it - you'll get tank and off spec dps gear (even if it's at a slower rate than the others) and you'll still be helping with progression.

Typically in a 10m it's best to have two main tanks, with one going DPS for the 1-tank fights (the one who is better at DPS generally, assuming that both are good at tanking). This sounds like a better role for you.

For any 3-tank fights (if there are any on 10m) it's best to have a DPS go tank, rather than to bring in a main-spec tank who will almost never actually tank, even less than in a 25m guild.

You'd be surprised... Tanks tend to come and go as much as melee, maybe moreso due to the added pressure/responsibility put on them. If you REALLY wanted to tank then you 'd more than likely be able to find a new guild, even this far into an expansion (might require a realm change).

That's the biggest issue for me. I really don't want to pay for a faction and/or realm change right now. I might be able to do one or the other come summertime, but I really don't have the extra finances for it right now. The current serve I am on is dying (at least Horde side is) and all my other toons are here too. I can't transfer them all.

Originally Posted by voidspark

Typically in a 10m it's best to have two main tanks, with one going DPS for the 1-tank fights (the one who is better at DPS generally, assuming that both are good at tanking). This sounds like a better role for you.

I'd even be alright with this. But we have 3 main tanks, so every week we have one of them 100% tank, the other off tank (and DPS on fights when we only need one tank), and the 3rd is dps 100% of the time. Like I said, I pull the most DPS out of all 3, so I find myself dpsing more anyway.

I made the decision to go full time dps anyway, after talking with the raid leader and the other DK in our raid. It will really help with gear distribution as well.

3 MS tanks is just bad planning on your guild management's part imo, it really isn't necessary. I have played the switcher for the last 3 tiers now and although it annoys the hell out of me because i'm always behind on gear for DPS I wouldn't leave the bunch of people I play with for anything.

It's up to you but I would definitely suggest approaching the RL/GM and trying to get the 3 MS tank situation sorted to your satisfaction. If you're just plain better than the other tanks then their choice should be an obvious one.

Edit: Derp, missed your post about going deeps. You never know... it might grow on you . Pick the spec you enjoy more though, don't play the fotm spec because you will end up resenting it.

If you're interested in solely helping your current guild with progression it would be sensible to go DPS, however if you're passionate about tanking and want to tank 100% I would suggest looking for another guild, even if it's off your server.

A good raid leader will not juggle 3 tanks just to keep things fair if one is clearly far better (talking in vent and giving directions attributes to tanking skill) while also having 3 tanks fight over gear. Your raid leader is clearly the problem. Especially if you thoroughly enjoy tanking. Something that seems hard to find these days.

What was said above, having 3 main tanks in a 10man guild is a bit overkill. Have 2 main tanks with near enough 100% attendance, and then have a dps with a tanking offspec who can step up in case a tank can't make a raid.

If I were in your situation, I'd look for another guild that actually needs a tank. I don't think it will be a big problem to find a new guild as a tank, unless you insist on staying on a dying server as you said above